The Chuck ToddCast
Have Democrats Found Their Red State SAVIOR To Beat Republicans? w/ Rob Sand
14 May 2025
Chuck Todd opens with a blistering analysis of America's current political landscape, arguing that both major parties are fundamentally weak and surviving only through their duopoly of ballot access. He examines the potential for political realignment, questioning whether MAGA and establishment Republicans might fracture and if figures like Senator John Cornyn would fare better as independents. Chuck doesn't hold back on the Biden administration either, calling out what he sees as selfishness from the Bidens and criticizing aides who failed to report the President's decline sooner, suggesting cabinet secretaries will need to answer for what he terms a "cover up."Then he’s joined by Rob Sand, Democratic candidate for governor of Iowa, who discusses his record of uncovering government waste and his vision for the state. Sand outlines his bipartisan approach to governance and delivers a sharp critique of Iowa's school voucher program, arguing it lacks transparency and has allowed private schools to raise tuition while turning away disabled students. The conversation covers Iowa's political shift, education policy, and whether Democrats should restore Iowa's first-in-the-nation primary status. The episode concludes with "Ask Chuck," where Todd answers listener questions on topics ranging from the theoretical "Limbaugh effect" in Obama's election to the practicality of expanding the House of Representatives, and even touches on the NBA draft lottery's impact on Texas basketball teams.Timeline:00:00 Introduction01:30 Both the Republican and Democratic parties are very weak03:00 Without the duopoly of ballot access, one of the two parties would have disappeared04:30 Interparty splits and the potential for independents?06:00 Could MAGA vs establishment factions fracture in the GOP?07:30 Would John Cornyn be better served running as an independent in Texas?11:10 Republicans have too many crowded primaries in Senate races12:30 Both parties brands are broken14:30 The Bidens have been selfish16:30 Shame on the anonymous aides who didn’t report Biden’s decline sooner17:45 Biden’s aides pushed back publicly and privately before he stepped down18:20 Biden’s cabinet secretaries will have to answer for the cover up21:10 The DNC drama surrounding David Hogg23:55 The DNC looks ridiculous right now26:15 Rob Sand joins the Chuck ToddCast 26:45 Why run for governor of Iowa? 29:30 Rob found a record amount of waste and abuse in Iowa government 30:15 Did you think about running as an independent? 34:35 If you win, is it a victory for Democrats or for independents? 36:45 Rob would appoint a bipartisan cabinet 37:30 The school voucher program in Iowa isn't transparent 38:45 The public school vouchers can be audited, the private ones can't 41:15 Iowa's public schools are falling behind 43:00 Private schools can turn away disabled students 44:15 Private schools just raised tuition after voucher program rollout 45:30 What's the plan to improve public schools in Iowa? 49:10 What are some Kim Reynolds policies he would keep? 51:05 Has Iowa shifted right, or is it a Trump phenomenon? 53:15 Should Democrats make Iowa their first primary state again? 56:30 Pete Buttigieg broke through in Iowa 59:00 Lottery scam in Iowa 1:03:00 What hurts Iowa more; tariffs or the USAID contracts being terminated? 1:05:15 Does he expect a primary challenger?1:06:05 Chuck's thoughts on Rob Sand interview 1:06:30 Ask Chuck 1:06:35 Has there ever been a study on the "Limbaugh effect", encouraging Democrats to vote for Obama? 1:11:35 If you doubled the size of the House, would there be physical space constraints? 1:14:15 Would a third party like the forward party focused on a singular issue be effective? 1:17:05 The NBA draft lottery ensured that all three Texas teams will be great(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements)
Full Episode
Hello there. Welcome to another episode of the Chuck Todd cast, whether you're watching on YouTube, listening on Spotify, Apple or wherever else you might listen. I appreciate you being there. And oh, by the way, I now have a free weekly sub stack. It's got a lead. item and column in it. Every Tuesday, it's going to drop. Tuesday's the one day we don't drop the podcast.
So that's you see what we did there. So I hope you go over there and subscribe to it. In fact, it's a it's something you've heard me dabble in before, but it's a more thorough analysis of how fragile the two major parties are in this moment. I think both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, you know, as as divided as America is between red and blue. Right.
We're polarized sort of between two sides. The two actual political parties that represent red and blue have never been weaker. Right. And essentially more. And they've been dominated by cults of personality over the last 20 years. When it just when it looks like they need refurbishing, a cult of personality rises up to sort of paper over their problems.
Think Barack Obama for the Democrats or Donald Trump for the Republicans. We are watching around the world a movement where there's, you know, we've seen this, there's clearly a massive political realignment taking place globally.
And what I saw take place in the UK that I brought up a while ago about what happened to the Tories there, the fact that they, at least in these last elections, were not treated like one of the two major parties. If you did not, if you wanted to vote against labor, you didn't vote for the Tories. You voted for the Reform Party UK, the Nigel Farage party, if you will.
And it's sort of, it's a simple premise to me. It's like, how weak are the two brands of the major parties right now? Think about it this way. If Donald Trump said today, we're going to disband the Republican Party and replace it with the MAGA, with a new political party, the MAGA party, who's with me? I'm going to guess 70% of the elected Republicans would sign up for the new party.
And suddenly you would have a complete exodus from the official club known as the Republican Party. Similarly, if Pete Buttigieg, Andy Beshear, Gretchen Whitmer, AOC banded together and said, you know what? The Democratic brand is broken. It is a mess. It doesn't you know, it's not what it used to be.
We need a new left of center party in this country that is focused on preserving the democracy and expanding and thriving and updating it. We need a modern a modern version of this. So we're going to start a new party. And, you know, it's sort of like taking the Donald Trump NAFTA approach. Right. Which is. Can't stand NAFTA. So here's the new NAFTA.
I got rid of NAFTA because we don't call it NAFTA anymore. But he kept NAFTA. He just renamed it. Right. That is that is arguably how badly the two brands are feeling these days and how easily they could be rebranded into a new party. And the fact is, when I when I give you those two potential options,
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